THE BEE CHARMER “Oh, my tiny kitten. You will be okay.” The tiny kitten in question was actually a fourteen pound squirming ball of sadness and disapproval. I struggled to hold her in my lap as I sat on the sofa in the exam room. She made short work of escaping and immediately discovered how to slither her way under the sofa where she continued her new profession of yowling piteously. I continued to make attempts at sympathy with her—which she of course ignored—and waited for the veterinarian to appear. The last time we were here, the vet informed me that my tiny kitten is in fact on the cusp of being a senior cat, and that changes to her diet and care would need to be made. How did that happen? My sister called me one day and asked me if I would prefer a black cat with a tail, or a white cat without a tail. I told her black with a tail because that would match my décor. I met my kitten when she was twelve weeks old, only slightly longer than my hand, and light enough that she almost did not exist. It was love at first sight. The next day, my tiny kitten may have been rethinking her love for me because I proceeded to put her in a car and drive three hours from my sisters house to my own, and discovered that day that size is not relevant to the volume of a cats voice, and that no, she is never going to calm down and stop yowling as long as she is in the car. It did not take long for her to grow up, eventually achieving a length of about thirty inches—with her tail—and a stature of just over three hands high. Her face never lost that kitten look, though. For seven years, she has been there to comfort me with her presence and injure me by running across my face at five in the morning. All of this I kept in mind as I sat on the glazed concrete floor of the exam room. She remained under the sofa, but ceased yowling. I put my hand under the sofa and felt her nuzzle it, then lay her head on it as though I were her pillow. The vet came in; all tests were negative. __ -E. H. Schutz is the author of Luxuria and the newly released Invidia, parts one and two of the Elizabethan romance trilogy, Impurities. She lives in Austin with her wife and wildlife. She may be found on Twitter @EHSchutz, and if one tweets in her general direction, she will notice it after several hours and tweet back.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 01:46:10 +0000
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